Desart Dreams
by Esrelda Snape
Summary: Sarah Whitney's horse Scarlet dreams of the chance to run in the desert like her noble grandsire did. What happens when the Horseland team is invited to take part in a Horse show in Saudi Arabia in honor of the 15 year old Prince's birthday? Will it all fall apart or will something magical come out of the tragedy? Read and find out for yourselves.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N this is my first fanfic for something other than my beloved Harry Potter. I decided to write this after watching one of my favorite morning cartoons. I know that I'm too old for such nonsense but I just love Horseland. So if you are a fan of horses and horseland than I hope that you enjoy my first horseland fic.**

**Summery, just in case it's too long to put where it should be.**

Sarah Whitney's horse Scarlet dreams of the chance to run in the desert like her noble grandsire did. What happens when the Horseland team is invited to take part in a Horse show in Saudi Arabia in honor of the 15 year old Prince's birthday? Will it all fall apart or will something magical come out of the tragedy? Read and find out for yourselves.

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**Chapter one Horse Dreams & invitations**

~(_)~Late night in the Horseland stables~(_)~

Scarlet paced her stall sleepily and snorted softly with distress as she popped her delicate black head out of her stall door to breathe in the sweetness of the summer night air that blew gently through the open door of the barn. She flared her nostrils taking in the scent of roses that floated in on the breeze and sighed. The other horses were all sound asleep in their stalls but Scarlet just couldn't lay herself down for rest.

"You're up rather late," said Shep as he padded quietly into the barn to check that everything was as it should be.

"I couldn't sleep, Shep. I keep on having this dream that is leaving me unsettled in many ways," said Scarlet as she shook herself at the thought of the dream.

"Sometimes it helps if you share what's bothering you with another individual that cares," said Shep as he circled and then lay down in front of Scarlet's stall and looked up at her expectantly.

"Maybe you're right, Shep. The dream starts out pleasantly enough," began Scarlet as she recalled the dream.

~(_)~_Scarlet's Memory of the Dream~(_)~_

_Scarlet and the other horses were led off of the large equine transport plane by their riders who were all chattering excitedly about the exhausting plane ride. While the humans were seated comfortably in the part of the plane that was reserved for the human passengers the horses were tied into separate box stalls so that they couldn't lay down to sleep. _

_As they were led one by one from the plane into the waiting horse trailer Scarlet held her head high and sniffed the desert air around her. She caught the scent of an unfamiliar Stallion and neighed shrilly in greeting. As her rider Sarah gently coaxed her into the trailer she heard the answering neigh come from the unseen stallion._

_"Easy girl, we'll be arriving at the stables soon and you can get some much needed rest," said Sarah as she tied Scarlet securely into the end of the trailer before patting her sleek black shoulder and shutting the doors to the trailer. Scarlet pawed at the floor of the trailer with impatience as the human's got into the long white limo that would lead the trailer and its presous cargo safely to their destination._

_As the trailer started to move Scarlet calmed and watched the passing country side wishing that she was running alongside of the trailer instead of being so confined. Suddenly she pricked her ears when she heard the sound of the excited Stallion who had called to her before, coming from somewhere outside the trailer._

_All of the other horses now perked up their ears and gazed out of the windows excitedly as they too heard the excited whinnies of the Stallion who now sounded as if he were outside of the back door of the trailer. As the confined horses watched they were shocked to see the whitish grey stallion with white and gold highlights in his flowing main and tail running hard along beside the trailer._

_The Stallion seemed to lock eyes with Scarlet for a second then whinnied again shrilly in greeting to the attractive black Arab mare in the trailer, before giving his master a happy little buck of joy and plunging forward with his tail flying proudly like a flag behind him as he ran passed the trailer effortlessly. The dream then changed._

_Scarlet was awakened by strange hands clipping a lead rope to her halter and dragging her out of her comfy stall. She reared and neighed shrilly for help but the other horses were unable to free themselves from the stalls. "Help me, someone please ," she screamed as the strange people led her passed a stall at the far end of the stables where the Grey stallion poked his head out and snorted loudly._

_"Are you mad? Have the human's broken your proud Arabian spirit? Fight them, Damn it, fight back as if your life depends on it," shouted the Stallion in his masculine Arab accented voice. On hearing his words Scarlet planted her feet firmly and pulled back with all of her might against the rope that held her. One of the human's hit her sharply with a long leather whip and she reared and leapt forward screaming in pain and terror. "Don't worry, I'll find you," called the grey stallion as he started kicking his door wildly. The dream changed again._

_Scarlet was tied to a large strange looking beast unlike anything that she had ever seen before being led deep into the desert night. She caught the sound of the Stallion's shrill neighs on the wind and whinnied back. After hours of traveling she was tied up with other Arabian horses in the center of a human camp, wishing that she were back safe with her beloved owner._

_The dream changed once more and she was running alongside of the grey Arabian Stallion who was leading her back through the desert toward her friends and her beloved rider._

_~(_)~End Scarlet's Memory of the Dream~(_)~_

"That sounds horrifying," said Shep as he laid his head on his paws sleepily and yawned. I shouldn't worry about it too much though, you know that Sarah would never let anything like that happen to you," said Shep as he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

"Perhaps you're right Shep, but I just have a feeling that there's more to the dream than we can understand," said Scarlet as she yawned and settled herself into the thick bed of soft straw that Bailey had put in her stall so that she could sleep comfortably.

~(_)~(_)~(_)~(_)~

The next morning Sarah Whitney arrived at the barn early. She walked up the gravel drive that led to the barn and scratched Shep and Angora on the heads happily before walking into the barn. She walked over to Scarlet's stall and peered in to find her lovely black Arabian mare eating the remains of her morning grain. "Good morning Scarlet. How would you feel about a nice grooming before we take our morning ride?" she asked the mare as she entered the stall with her grooming supplies.

On seeing her mistress Scarlet nickered softly with her nose still deep inside of her grain feeder. "Don't talk with your mouth full," laughed Sarah as she gave her horse an affectionate pat on the neck. Button and Calypso whinnied shrilly as Alma and Molly entered the barn.

"Good morning Sarah, I see that you've beaten us to the barn yet again," said Molly as she gave Calypso a nice carrot.

"Yeah, Chicka, you definitely beat us to the barn, but there's no way that we're just going to let you beat us to our favorite spot," said Alma with a wink as she entered Button's Stall and started grooming her horse.

The three girls laughed as they groomed their horses and decided exactly where they wanted to ride for their early morning warm up, as they tacked up their horses in the isle and placed their helmets firmly onto their heads before leading their horses out into the fresh morning air. The three girls rode through the trails for about an hour chatting happily about their mornings then returned to the barn and unsaddled their horses to let them rest in the pasture before their lessons began.

They were in the process of mucking out their stalls when Zoey and Chloe Stilton sauntered lazily into the barn gossiping over an article that they had read in a tabloid magazine. "You guys are never going to believe this," said Chloe as she groomed Chili. There's this Prince in Saudi Arabia who has a birthday coming up and according to the tabloids his parents are going to throw this lavish horse show to celebrate," said Chloe as she tenderly brushed her horses light grey coat until it shined.

"Yeah, the rumor has it that they will be inviting only the best horse and rider teams to compete in Arabia," said Zoey as she ran a soft brush over Pepper's Dark grey coat lovingly. "In my opinion it's not much of a competition unless the Stilton sister's and our magnificent horses are able to attend," she said leading Pepper from her stall towards the barn door.

Bailey came running into the barn waving a letter in his hand excitedly. "What's up, Bailey?" asked Sarah as she dusted fresh straw from her red riding jacket.

"You guys aren't going to believe this," he panted attempting to catch his breath.

"What!" screamed the six girls in unison just as Noni led Sunburst from his stall.

"Guess," taunted Bailey as his eyes sparkled mischievously.

Will took the letter from Bailey's hand and jumped on top of a stack of hay bales so that he was out of Bailey's reach as he read the letter out loud to the others.

"_Dear Horseland Team,_

_The royal family of Saudi Arabia is proud to invite you and your horses to take part in the celebratory horse show that is to be held at the Palace in honor of the birthday of our crowned Prince. All travel arrangements and accommodations have been prepared for you. We look forward to seeing your fine performance on show day,_

_Sincerely,_

_Prime Minister Hassan Ali Caziier"_

Zoey and Chloe Stilton squealed with joy and walked their horses out to the pasture talking animatedly about what they were going to wear for the competition, and the great shopping that they were going to do while in Arabia. At the end of the day before everyone went their separate ways Mr. and Mrs. Handler Bailey's parents, handed out permission forms for everyone to have signed by their parents.

"Keep in mind that anyone who does not have a signed permission form will be staying behind, Said Mr. Handler calmly.

"We leave for Arabia in three days," said Mrs. Handler with a bright smile on her face.

"Mom, Dad, what about my permission slip," asked Bailey?

"You know that you and I will be going, along. Since when have auntie and uncle ever refused you permission to go to a horse show," asked Will as he slapped the back of Bailey's head playfully? "I'll probably end up being the one who stays behind," said Will.

"Actually Will, You will be going as well, announced Mr. Handler with a sly smile on his face. "Besides it will give your aunt time to get the place remodeled a bit, while we are gone," said Mr. Handler as he patted Will on the back.

**A/N Thanks for reading please review and let me know what you think so far. This chapter has not yet been checked out by a beta reader. Chapter two Oversea Road Trip is next .**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N So sorry for the delay in posting this chapter. I've been working on some other things and had a slight case of writers black to overcome. Please enjoy chapter hapter 2.**

**Chapter two Oversea Road Trip**

Three days later the horses and all of their tack and other necessities were loaded into the horse trailer and headed to the airport. Their riders were already there and waiting for their horses to be loaded onto the plane. Scarlet froze just before the ramp leading up into the plane with wild eyes and flared nostrils, quivering in fear. Her thoughts kept running back to the dream.

Mr. Handler and Will both pulled on her lead rope but her feet were planted firmly on the pavement. She neighed shrilly with fear and attempted to back herself back into the horse trailer, when she felt Sarah's familiar hand on her neck. "Leave Scarlet to me, she's never been on a plane before," said Sarah as she took the lead rope from Will and Mr. Handler.

Sarah walked Scarlet around in a small circle talking her in a soft soothing tone while the other horses and their gear was loaded onto the plane. As the other horses walked calmly past them, they nickered reassuringly to Scarlet. "See, Scarlet girl, the other horses aren't afraid of the plane. It's completely safe, and I'll be with you too," said Sarah as she turned Scarlet back toward the ramp and slowly walked her into the interior of the plane.

As Scarlet stepped aboard the plane, the other horses nickered happily when they saw her. They were all enclosed into trailer tight box stalls which were built into the sides of the plain. Jimber, Calypso, and sunburst, were confined to a three stall section near the door of the plane. Pepper, Chillie, and Aztec, were enclosed into three stalls near the front of the cargo hold. The only place left for Scarlet was between two thoroughbreds in the center.

Other horses were confined to similar stalls on the other side of the plane. Most of them were calm, but the one Thoroughbred on Scarlet's left side was even more unnerved than she was. A veterinarian went around to each horse and with the aid of either the airport staff or the personal grooms, and owners of the horses, placed large balls of cotton into the ears, and special padded helmets to protect the horses heads, before giving each horse a mild tranquilizer to keep them calm. After that the grooms and other staff members tenderly and carefully wrapped the horses legs in thick cushioned leg raps.

"Don't worry Tri-Star; you've flown many times before now. You're making the young lady here more frightened than she has to be," said the large black thoroughbred stallion on Scarlet's right side.

"No, I don't want to be here. It's too tight, just too tight, too close, I don't want to go to Arabia, I want to go home," said Tri-Star with a frightened whinny. Scarlet and the other horses in the plane watched as the veterinarian and Tri-Star's groom attempted to inject the frightened horse with a needle and syringe.

Scarlet cringed and huddled as close as she could to the box that had the black Stallion in it, just as Tri-Star reared striking out at his groom with wild hooves. The Veterinarian had no choice but to use the tranquilizer gun on the panicked horse. "Don't worry your pretty little head about him, Lass. He does this every time that we travel in close quarters like this. He'll be fine once the tranquilizer takes effect."

"They call me Dublin knight, what's your name, Lass?" asked Dublin politely.

"My name is Scarlet, I'm from Horseland," said Scarlet as she started to feel the effect of the tranquilizer.

"Is this the first time that you and your stable mates ever flown on what the human's call an airplane?" asked Dublin.

"Yes, most of our shows and competitions are held in our home town or state. We've been invited to perform for the prince of Arabia's birthday," said Scarlet as a feeling of calmness overtook her.

"Tri-Star over there hasn't always been this way, you know. You see his grandsire was a famous Olympic champion, many years ago. He never got used to traveling on airplanes and it cost him his life," said Dublin in a knowing tone. The other horses all listened to the Black Stallion as he told the story.

"Shipping by air can be very stressful for horses- most of them do not adapt well to the noise and vibrations of the airplane and not all horses can stand the close confinement which is necessary when transporting horses this way. Sometimes, this can lead to serious problems, as it unfortunately happened to Tri-Star's Grandsire in 1960 during the Rome Olympics. That year, Tri-Star's Grandsire, Markham regretfully had to be destroyed in flight because he panicked and went berserk, and endangered everyone's safety. Claustrophobia can affect horses as well as people- and just like with people, there is generally not much you can do when a horse that's claustrophobic has a panic attack on an airplane. The space is just too confined, and there is nowhere to run and nowhere to hide-," said Dublin with a sigh as he thought back on the story that he had heard his grandsire tell him as a foal.

"A plane in the air is self-contained and alone. Emergency euthanasia is tragic, yes, but sometimes, there is no other choice. Better one horse be sacrificed than lose a whole plane full of horses and people in a crash- and a horse that's panicked and out of control can do enormous amounts of damage to an aircraft," said Dublin as he tossed his head over in Tri-Star's direction. Tri-Star was now heavily sedated and was held up by leather harness straps hanging from the top of his box stall. "I've been to Arabia loads of times for races. You'll love it," said Dublin as he took a mouthful of hay and chewed it thoughtfully.

~(_)~(_)~(_)~(_)~

15 hours, 24 minutes later the plane landed in Saudi Arabia. The Horses were taken out of their stalls one at a time and loaded into trailers and shipped to a quarantine facility. The only horses left on the plane were the horses of Horseland. They perked their ears as they heard the voice of Mr. Handler speaking to a man just outside of the open door of the plane.

"Alright kids according to the prime Minister, and the Vet, we are to load our horses into that trailer and we will be taken to the stables where our horses will be staying," said Mr. Handler. There was an excited scuffle of feet and chattering voices as the teens all quickly loaded their things into the trailer and ran back inside of the plane to unload their horses.

"Hello, Scarlet, did you enjoy the flight?" asked Sarah, as she clipped her lead rope to Scarlet's halter. Scarlet nickered softly and nuzzled her owner's cheek affectionately. Sarah laughed and led Scarlet from the plane. Once they were on the ground and waiting for their turn to load into the trailer the wind blew gently flowing through the manes and tails of the horses.

Scarlet held her head high and sniffed the desert air around her. She caught the scent of an unfamiliar stallion and neighed shrilly in greeting. As her rider Sarah gently coaxed her into the trailer she heard the answering neigh come from the unseen stallion.

"Easy girl, we'll be arriving at the stables soon and you can get some much needed rest," said Sarah as she tied Scarlet securely into the end of the trailer before patting her sleek black shoulder and shutting the doors to the trailer. Scarlet pawed at the floor of the trailer with impatience as the human's got into the long white limo that would lead the trailer and its precious cargo safely to their destination.

As the trailer started to move Scarlet calmed and watched the passing country side wishing that she was running alongside of the trailer instead of being so confined. Suddenly she pricked her ears when she heard the sound of the excited stallion who had called to her before, coming from somewhere outside the trailer. All of the other horses now perked up their ears and gazed out of the windows excitedly as they too heard the excited whinnies of the Stallion who now sounded as if he were outside of the back door of the trailer. As the confined horses watched they were shocked to see the whitish grey stallion with white and gold highlights in his flowing main and tail running hard along beside the trailer.

The stallion seemed to lock eyes with Scarlet for a second then whinnied again shrilly in greeting to the attractive black Arab mare in the trailer, before giving his master a happy little buck of joy and plunging forward with his tail flying proudly like a flag behind him as he ran passed the trailer effortlessly.

"Whoa, now that's a real stallion," said Pepper as she watched the handsome stallion run past her window.

"Hay, what am I chopped apples?" asked Jimber in a teasing tone.

"You aren't my type, and I know for a fact that Button has been in love with you for years," snorted Pepper defiantly.

"Really, is that a fact?" asked Jimber looking over at Button, who had hidden her face in her hay net with embarrassment.

Within five minutes the trailer came to a stop and the doors were opened so that the horses could be unloaded. They were all tied to steal rings that were attached to a large fountain with cool clean water to drink, as their owners removed the shipping boots, and blankets, before giving each horse a relaxing grooming.

All of the horses pricked their ears, and looked up curiously as they heard the same piercing whinny from before, coming closer, with the sound of thundering hooves. The whitish grey stallion from before came flying through the open gates of the royal stable yard and came to a sliding halt making sand fly up into the face of the Prime Minister, before rearing high over the frightened man's head.

His rider leapt down from the saddle laughing hard, and gave his horse a loving pat and a carrot from somewhere in his desert robes. "You deserve this Sultan," said the strongly accented voice of the boy.

"Honestly, your hiness, must you always do that to me?" asked Prime Minister Casiier

The Prince handed Sultan's reins to one of the grooms, and then gave his father's Prime Minister a pat on the back. "You really need to learn to loosen up a bit, Hassan," he said with a soft chuckle.

He then noticed the other teens grooming their horses, and turned away from the Prime Minister to greet them. "Hello, I am Prince Abdula Kavad Duran, of Arabia. On behalf of my family, I bid you all welcome to our country. You must be the team of riders from Horseland," he said with a bow.

"Yes, your Hiness, we are. My name is Will, and this is my cousin Bailey, Cloey, and Zoey Stilton, Molly, Nonie Cloud, Alma Rodriguez, and Sarah Whitney," said Will as they all bowed in respect.

"That's not necessary," said Abdula shaking his head. "I get enough of that from everyone in my homeland. Please if you don't mind just treat me like a normal teenager. All of this stuffy aristocratic protocol drives me up the wall, that's why I spend most of my free time on my horse Sultan," he said as he stepped forward and offered a carrot to Scarlet.

"Your mare, is the finest, I've seen in years. What's her name?" he asked Sarah as he stroked Scarlet's soft nose lovingly.

"Thank you for the compliment. Her mane is Scarlet," said Sarah as she untied her horse.

"If you would all follow me, I can show you where your horses will be stabled," said Abdula as he gestured for them to follow him. On seeing his master walking beside the beautiful black Arab mare, Sultan neighed happily, and watched as they passed his stall.

"I think, that your horse likes Scarlet," said Sarah with a soft giggle as she watched the grey Arab stallion toss his head happily.

"What can I say? Sultan has always had excellent taste in ladies, not unlike his master," said Abdula with a slight smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "These stalls have been reserved for your horses. Our stable grooms have already prepared the stalls for them. Oh, and while you are here, I must ask that you leave the cleaning of the stalls and the care of your horses to my grooms. It is simply bad manners for any of our guests to be forced to do such lowly work. Well, that's what my father thinks anyway. Personally, I prefer to do all of the chores and caring for my horse, but my father and mother caught me last week and I was grounded from riding my horse until today," said Abdula as the others gasped.

"You do your own mucking?" asked Zoey and Cloey in unison. "You're a Royal, Princes aren't supposed to want to do that sort of dirty work," said the twins in shock. Abdula slapped his forehead in anger, and shook his head.

"I can tell that I'm going to butt heads with you two. Please forgive me but I am running late for a lesson," said Abdula as he turned away from the stilton's. Perhaps after your horses have rested and settled in I can take you all out for a little ride to let them get accustomed to the climate change here," said Abdula as he gave Scarlet one last pat, before walking quickly away.

"He was nice," said Sarah as she led Scarlet into the stall and removed her lead hanging it inside of the stall.

"He was cute," said Cloey.

"Keep dreaming sis, you don't have a chance of getting a date with him," said Zoey.

"Neither do you," argued Clowy.

"Please stop arguing," moaned the others as they closed their horses into their stalls and started to look around the stables. Mr. Handler and Prime Minister Hassan Caziier came and lead them into the palace and into their rooms so that they too could rest and freshen up.

**A/N thatnks for reading please leave a review, and keep in mind that this chapter has not yet been edited by a beta reader. Chapter 3 Danger in the Desert is next.**


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